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In ancient texts Lady Xia Ji is described as a dangerous woman, whose seductive beauty brought about the near collapse of the state of Chen in 599 BCE. Having been virtually forgotten for many centuries, in the late Ming dynasty Lady Xia Ji was the subject of an erotic novel: the Zhulin yeshi (The Romantic History of Zhulin). Here she is portrayed as using esoteric techniques of sexual vampirism to maintain her beauty and achieve transcendency. Subsequently, she also figured in the Xin lieguo zhi (New Account of the States [of the Eastern Zhou]) by Feng Menglong (1574-1645). Although these two Ming dynasty novels are known to be closely related, the connection has not previously been explored. These interrelationships provide important clues as to the dating of these two texts.
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Introduction
Lady Xia Ji ... was traditionally numbered among the most wicked women of Chinese antiquity. According to accounts preserved in ancient historical and philosophical texts, the beautiful Lady Xia Ji, through her promiscuity, brought about the deaths of many men and almost led to the destruction of the state of Chen ... in 599 BCE. Left a widow with a young son who proved unable to protect her from sexual exploitation, she had an unusual career for a woman of aristocratic birth, even in so turbulent an age as the Spring and Autumn period (771-475 BCE). Her vulnerability may be said to reflect both the collapse of normal social mechanisms during this time and her exposed situation as a pawn in a marriage alliance between the ruling house of Zheng ... (her natal family) and the powerful Xia ministerial clan of Chen, with her husband's early demise leaving her at the mercy of a series of powerful men. The furious rivalry unleashed between aristocrats desperate to possess her is said to have embroiled a succession of kingdoms and states in prolonged conflict. The portrayal of Lady Xia Ji within the mainstream textual tradition is therefore that of a femme fatale; her appearance on the scene was marked by vicious quarrels as men found themselves unable to control their lust.
For most of the imperial era, the troubling story of Lady Xia Ji attracted little attention in any...